Attitude of Tertiary Institution Lecturers in Kwara State towards Post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination as a Method for Ensuring Quality Higher Education in Nigeria

Abstract

The global quest for quality education as entrenched in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG4) was born out of the dire need to improve people’s lives through the training of high level cognitive and non-cognitive skills which will enable students to contribute to worthwhile development in the society. In that direction, goals of tertiary education in Nigeria focus on the training of high-level manpower through high quality lifelong education that prepares students with the knowledge, skills and character for self-dignity. However, a major constraint to the achievement of the goals is the unsatisfactory performance of students, which has been blamed on single entrance examination process. Towards ensuring quality higher education, therefore, tertiary educational institutions are saddled with the mandate of ensuring quality student intake through the conduct of multiple entrance examinations, particularly the Post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (Post-UTME), which has generated mixed reactions across the country in recent times. This study therefore investigated attitudes of tertiary institution lecturers in Kwara State towards Post-UTME as a method for ensuring quality higher education in Nigeria. The study adopted the descriptive method. A total of 508 respondents participated through purposive sampling while a structured questionnaire entitled, “Attitude Towards Post-UTME Questionnaire (ATPUQ)” was used to collect data. The descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data and all hypotheses were tested at 0.05 alpha levels. The results revealed that respondents showed positive attitudes towards Post-UTME. There was a significant difference in the attitude of the respondents based on institution type and career cadre. It was recommended that lecturers should be adequately involved in the conduct of the Post-UTME; and lecturers in private tertiary institutions should be more educated on the benefits of Post-UTME in enhancing quality higher education.